DSP Civil Lines Ashiq Jatt was arrested on the orders of Punjab Inspector General Tariq Saleem Dogar and was sent to jail on a judicial remand on Friday. On Saturday, magistrate Shafqat accepted his bail application at a surety bond of Rs50,000.
Meanwhile, police sources have said that a suspect had been arrested in Madina Town for his alleged involvement in the murder. The suspect, identified as Rana Maqsood, is said to have confessed to the crime.
Sources said that Maqsood was being interrogated by a team of police and agencies in Faisalabad but did not disclose the exact location.
The two Christian brothers, Sajid and Rashid Emmanuel, were shot on July 19 by unidentified persons when the police was on its way to present them before the court. They had been accused of writing a blasphemous pamphlet, which was critical of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Earlier this month, about 400 demonstrators burned tyres and held protests in the low-income Waris Pura neighbourhood of Faisalabad, a slum inhabited by nearly 100,000 Christians, demanding the death penalty for the accused.
Pakistan’s blasphemy law carries the death penalty although no one has ever been sent to the gallows for the crime. Human rights activists want the legislation repealed, saying it is exploited for personal enmity. (Additional input from AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, July 25th, 2010.
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